November 18, 2010

Scanning Our Skies

Lately, controversy over airport full-body scanners has arisen in our national consciousness. I would like to think that this is a perfect opportunity to reexamine and improve our entire air travel security policy.

Currently, we have a system which has failed to catch a single terrorist, even though they have arisen and have nearly succeeded in striking at various targets, including passenger airlines. These attacks were only thwarted through various combinations of investigative effort, the alertness and sensibility of people on the street, and the quick and courageous actions of stewardesses and passengers. This suggests that actual humans have proven far more capable of detecting and defending themselves against threats than any number or type of scanner.

What if we were to change our system to a proven system that utilized the ability of people to detect threats in a large population? What if we were to change to a system more like the Israeli model, in which highly trained personnel ask travelers certain questions, and then release them to go on their way? The Israeli system doesn't rely on scanners, but on people - and thus is fundamentally more reliable. Also, the curren system is dehumanizing. It treats fellow citizens like cattle to be passed through scanners, forcing them to remove our shoes and divest ourselves of various personal posessions. Instead of that experience modern travelers dread, we could have a halfway normal conversation with another human being. This method would better protect our civil liberties and our security. The choice we have is not between privacy and a terrorist attack, but between two known systems, one of which has better performance and protection of liberties, and another, which has neither.